In 7th grade science, students will primarily focus on life science topics. Students will learn about the way living organisms are organized, including human body systems. Students will also get their first exposure to dissection, and compare a frog’s body structure to our own. Students will also examine the natural world, looking at the environment and how organisms respond to it over time. Student’s will work in partners and groups as well as individually on labs, hands on activities, projects, digital interactives and more.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to identify how DNA contains information for organisms, and is passed onto offspring. They will also understand the structure of cells, and the general structure of humans. They will examine the Earth, biomes, and Texas ecoregions, as well as how humans impact water quality throughout them.

Outline of Course

Units covered include but are not limited to:

• levels of organization in multicellular organisms

• human body systems

• plant and animal cells, cell organelles and their functions

• reproduction, heredity and DNA

• photosynthesis

• how plants and animals respond to internal and external stimuli

• ecology including how energy moves through ecosystems

• how organisms inherit traits, and how those traits can change over time in response to their environment

• catastrophic events and ecological succession

• examining Texas ecoregions and how they are affected by weathering, erosion and deposition

• how humans impact water quality

• How Earth is able to support life and what accommodations are necessary for human space travel